So far, 15 villagers have been detained in connection with the incident. Videos of villagers brutally beating the motionless, bleeding bodies of the five individuals have also surfaced.

Mumbai: In yet another incident of lynching based on WhatsApp rumours, five men were killed in Rainpada village of Maharashtra's Dhule district on Sunday after the villagers suspected them of being child traffickers.

According to the Dhule police, rumours were being spread in the area through WhatsApp that child traffickers had come to the area.

The incident took place around 12:30 pm on Sunday when a mob attacked the five men who had come to the village begging for money and shelter. Dhule Superintendent of Police, M Ramkumar said, “The victims, who belonged to Solapur village, had come here to beg. They were locked up and beaten on suspicion of being child traffickers.”

So far, 15 villagers have been detained in connection with the incident. Videos of villagers brutally beating the motionless, bleeding bodies of the five individuals have also surfaced.

Talking to News18, MoS Home (Rural) Deepak Kesarkar said, “We condemn this horrific incident. A probe has been ordered and a there will be a check on these fake WhatsApp, social media rumours. We will get to the root of this incident.”

Several senior-level officials have reached the village to carry out the investigation.